Richard Johnson
Richard Leonard Johnson
Born: 29 December 1974, Chertsey, Surrey
Major Teams: Middlesex, Somerset, England.
Known As: Richard Johnson
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Medium
NBC Denis Compton Award 1996
Career Statistics:
FIRST-CLASS
(1992 - 2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 115 164 22 2422 69 17.05 0 6 47 0
O R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 3190.3 10181 384 26.51 10-45 14 3 49.8 3.19
LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(1993 - 2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 138 93 21 873 45* 12.12 0 0 17 0
O R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 1033.2 5003 158 31.66 5-50 2 1 39.2 4.84
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
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Profile:
Richard Johnson made his first-class debut for Middlesex as an 18-year-old
in 1992, having played for the club at all levels from Under-11. He toured
with England Under-18 to RSA in 1992-93, Under-19 to SL 1993-94, but came to
national attention with a remarkable innings haul of 10-45 in 1994 against
Derby (at the time he was the second-youngest player ever to take 10 wickets
in an innings, and the most economical since Hedley Verity's 10-10 in 1932),
and seemed to have learnt much from team-mate Angus Fraser. Johnson was
rewarded with a place on the England A tour to India 1994-95.
Selected to tour South Africa with the Test squad in 1995-96, Johnson
suffered the heartbreak of being forced to withdraw with a back injury.
Complete fitness eluded him for much of the period since, but he was back to
something near his best by the end of 2000.
Disillusioned by life in a struggling Middlesex side and desperate to
play Test cricket, Johnson moved to Somerset for the 2001 season, attracted
by the hard pitches and aspirational county management. The move paid
dividends as he played a leading role in a successful season for his new
club, taking 62 wickets at 23.77 in first-class cricket, and playing a major
part in Somerset's Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy success.
By one of those quirks for which only selectors can account, Johnson was
three times called into England squads for Test matches that summer, only to
be left out of the final XI each time. Johnson bore such disappointments
stoically, even when he was not selected for any of the winter tours that
followed. Nevertheless, when his county colleague Andrew Caddick withdrew
from the party originally selected to go to India, the same selectors who
had ignored his claims before turned to Johnson as a replacement, and gave
him the richly-deserved chance of becoming an England cricketer once again.
He did nothing wrong, impressing in the warm-up games, but the need for
two spinners in the Test side counted against him and by the end of the
winter was still awaiting a call to the starting XI. That situation
persisted after an injury-ravaged 2002 season when he continued to impress
at county level despite Somerset's collective disappointments.
Now with a chest-on action, Johnson generates sharp pace off a relatively
short run with a vigorous delivery action. Dark, swarthy and powerfully
built, he can swing the ball and move it off the seam, and gains steep
bounce to trouble even the best batsmen. He is an increasingly useful
lower-order batsman of belligerent nature but simple technique. (Copyright
CricInfo October 2002)
Last Updated: Saturday, 09-Nov-2002 10:13:23 GMT
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